National Guard Considering Major Expansion in Indo-Pacific
In an interview, Gen. Dan Hokanson says Guard seeks to amplify its training presence because of China’s increased aggressiveness.
TARA COPP | JULY 25, 2022 03:01 PM ET
NATIONAL GUARD ASIA-PACIFIC ARMY AIR FORCE
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT – The National Guard is considering a sizable expansion of training programs with Indo-Pacific nations to amplify U.S. presence there, its top general said Monday.
Various Guard units currently have more than 90 training arrangements with countries around the world, such as the California National Guard’s decades-old program with Ukraine. Where the next program is launched is determined by a priority list created by the State Department, combatant commanders, and the Guard, said chief of the National Guard Bureau Army Gen. Dan Hokanson.
Of the top 10 under consideration now, “probably five of those 10” are in the Indo-Pacific, Hokanson told Defense One.
“As you know, it’s a very important theater right now,” Hokanson said.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/07/national-guard-considering-major-expansion-indo-pacific/374892/